Separating conveyer



P 3, 1934- A. s. MACKENZIE SEPARATING CONVEYER Filed July 1, 1932 2Sheets-Sheet 1 April 1934- A. s. MACKENZIE 53,245

SEPARATING GONVEYER Filed July 1, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Snow vi 5X .3332 .77. j MCkZ/ZZM Patented Apr. 3, 1934 UNETED SATES SEPARATING'CONVEYER Alexander S. Mackenzie, Houston, Tex, assignor, by mesneassignments, to Elk City Cotton Oil Company, a corporation of OklahomaApplication July 1, 1932, Serial No. 620,493

3 Claims.

The present invention is a separating conveyer. More particularly, theinvention comprises apparatus which will convey or distribute raw cottonor similar materials to a gin or a series of gins and which will removeforeign particles from the cotton or other materials during thedistributing movement thereof.

Broadly considered, apparatuses of this type comprise a conveyer beltupon which the cotton is deposited during the movement of the beltthrough a casing. Suction is applied to one surface of the belt to drawforeign particles from the cotton and into a suction chamber.Partitioning devices are spaced along the conveyer to cooperate with thesuction casing to limit the suction effect to a predetermined area ofthe belt.

In the apparatuses of this type now generally used, the means to limitthe suction effect generally includes members spaced along the interiorwall of the suction casing to cooperate with the partitioning or valvedevices of the conveyer. Such an arrangement tends to retard themovement of the conveyer and increases the friction, thereby adding tothe load imposed upon the source of power of the apparatus.

The principal object of my invention is to provide an apparatus of thetype described in which a suction area of maximum effectiveness will beprovided with a minimum degree of friction between the parts whichcooperate to provide the suction area.

Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus of this typewhich includes a compact suction area so that the entire apparatus maybe constructed in small units as well as larger units.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a novel form ofpartition or valve and means to cooperate therewith to confine thesuction effect within certain limits.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel form of conveyerbelt for use in an apparatus of this type.

In the drawings, in which like numerals refer to like parts throughoutthe several views,

Figure l is a longitudinal vertical section through my apparatus;

Figure 2 is an end elevation of the apparatus;

Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure1; and

Figure 4 is a detail vertical section through one of the valve devices.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral designates the casing of mymachine which is supported upon upstanding members 11. Angle bars 12suitably secured to the upstanding members 11, support bearing members13 and 14 at the opposite ends of the machine having shafts l5 and 16respectively journaled therein, the

bearing 14 being longitudinally adjustable upon its supporting bar 12.Large pulleys or drums 17 are fixed to the shafts and 16 within thecasing 10. The shaft 15 is driven from a suitable source of power bymeans of any desired I l-'- form of gearing or belt connection generallyindicated by the numeral 18.

An endless conveyor 19 extends about the drums 1'7 and is moved throughthe casing by the rotation of the drum 1'7 secured to the power shaft15. The belt 19 comprises an upper run 20 and a lower run 21 extendingsubstantially horizontally between the drums 17.

A suction chamber 22 is mounted within the casing 10 within the spacebetween the upper and lower runs of the conveyer belt. The chamber 22 isprovided with a lower wall 23 and side walls 24 and 25. These wallsextend the width of the casing 10 and contact with the side walls 26 and27 of the casing 10 to form an air-tight joint therewith. A suctionconduit 28 is fixed to the side wall 27 of the casing 10 and isconnected to a suction pump, not shown. whereby suction may be exertedwithin the chamber 22. The end walls 24 and of the chamber 22 areprovided at their upper ends with horizontal outwardly extending guideflanges or walls 29 which serve to support the upper run 20 of theconveyer belt and to maintain it in the desired position relative to theupper wall 30 of the casing 10. An in-feed conduit 31 is secured to theupper wall 30 of the casing 10 at a point opposite the suction chamber22 to feed raw cotton or similar materials into the apparatus.

As is best shown in Figure 4, the belt 21 is preferably formed ofsections 32 of foraminous material such as woven wire with sheets orslabs 33 of rubber, leather, or the like, interposed between thesections, the adjacent edges of the sections 32 being joined to thesheets 33 by means of cleats or rivets 34. Right angled members 35 ofmetal have one face 36 thereof riveted to the outer surface of thesheets 33 and a sheet or slab 37 of rubber, leather, or the like, isclamped between the outwardly projecting faces 38 of the right angledmembers 35. It will be noted from Figure 3 that the right angled members35 do not extend the width of the casing 10, and that the sheets orslabs 37 project past the edges of the members 35 to closely contactwith the inner surfaces of the side walls of the casing 10. Also, faces38 of the members 35 do not project outwardly from the belt 21 asuflicient distance to contact with the outer walls of the casing 10,the sheets 3'7 extending past the outer edges of the faces 38 to closelycontact with the outer walls of the casing. Through this arrangement,the sheets 37 form valve elements which contact with the inner surfacesof the casing 10 and serve to confine the suction within the chamber 22to a predetermined area. The horizontally projecting flanges 29 on theend walls 24 and 25 of the chamber 22 serve to hold the valves 37 inclose contact with the inner surface of the longitudinal walls of thecasing 10 while the valves are moving over these flanges, the flangesand longitudinal walls thereby forming passageways through which the run20 of the belt moves. The casing 10 is so constructed that the valvemembers moving along other portions of the casing will not contactsufficiently-closely therewith to create a friction or drag which wouldtend to increase the load upon the power device which operates theapparatus.

In the operation of my machine, raw and uncleaned cotton or the like isfed through the inlet conduit 31 and is deposited upon the upper surfaceof the upper run 20 of the conveyer belt. The suction exerted within thechamber 22 will immediately draw foreign particles from the cotton andthrough the interstices of the belt 19. The valves 3'7 are so spacedupon the belt 19 and the flanges 29 are of such length that one of thevalves will always be moving across the surface of each of thehorizontal flanges 29 and will be pressed upwardlyagainst the innersurface of the upper wall 30 of the casing 10 to entirely limit thesuction effect to the area between the valve members 37 which are movingacross the flanges 29.

The use of valve elements of the type disclosed and the arrangement ofthe casing'as above described enables me to completely confine thesuction area by the use of a minimum number of valve elements at eachend of the suction area and the friction present in the apparatus isgreatly reduced, permitting the use of a driving means of relatively lowhorse-power.

The cleaned cotton or other material may be discharged from the casing10 at any desired point, in the present embodiment the discharge 39being located at one end of the casing.

It will be understood that the machine disclosed may be of any desiredlength, although the area in which the valves are closely pressedagainst the walls of the casing will be of minimum size.

I claim:--

1. In an apparatus of the class described, a chamber, an aperturedendless conveyer belt, a portion of the path of one of the runs of thebelt being through said chamber, a material feeding conduit opening intosaid chamber to feed material to be cleaned to one surface of the runwithin said chamber, a suction conduit opening into the chamber on theopposite side of the run, projecting members spaced along the materialreceiving side of said belt, said chamber including walls extendingtherefrom parallel with the course of the run passing through saidchamber and adapted to respectively contact with the edges of saidprojecting members and the opposite side of the run to define a closedsuction area.

2. In an apparatus of the class described, a chamber, a'n aperturedendless conveyer belt having upper and lower runs and arranged to havethe upper run moved through said chamher, a material feeding conduitopening into the chamber on the upper side of the run therein to feedmaterial to be cleaned to the upper surface of the run, a suctionconduit opening to the opposite side of the run within the chamber,projecting members spaced along the material receiving side of said beltto form material receiving compartments, and walls extending from theends of said chamber and parallel with the course of the upper run andadapted to respectively contact with the edges of said projectingmembers and the opposite side of the upper run to define a suction area.

3. In an apparatus of the class described, an apertured endless conveyerbelt having upper and lower runs, a casing generally conforming a to thecourse of travel of said belt, means to drive said belt, means to feedmaterial to be cleaned to the upper surface of the upper run of saidbelt, a suction chamber within the casing open at its upper side andprovided with longitudinally ;z

and horizontally extending flanges over which the upper run of the beltmoves, and outwardly projecting members spaced along said belt andadapted to closely contact with the inner surface of the wall of thecasing during their movement 1 on said flanges to define a suction areain the casing adjacent said suction chamber.

ALEXANDER S. MACKENZIE.

